White...

  All I can see is white…

  What’s happening I...

  I can’t feel the pain anymore...

  I can’t breathe..

  No, I don’t need to breathe...

  It’s warm…

  I..

  I think I’m ok...

  Is...

  Is this a hospital..?

  A gentle voice fills the air, soft, like the calm whispers of a mother lulling a child to sleep. A sense of happiness and calm washes over me like a warm embrace I didn’t know I needed. “Oh child of strife and sadness. Gentle soul whose hand has caused the death of others. Oh, light that blood has tainted. Rest now. Your time is done.”

  That voice, It’s coming from everywhere. What does it mean by my time is done?

  The light overwhelming me fades, but everything remains so white. There is something here, shapes of things so close and yet still a blur. Each passing moment feels like an eternity, but my eyes are adjusting. I can see pillars, a roof, a floor, a… person? Hello? I try to speak but no words come out, my words trapped inside my mind.

  A soft chuckle comes from the direction of the person. “Fear not, young one. I can hear you.” The gentle voice says, her words once again filling me with a sense of calm.

  Is this a god! How can she hear me? How is that possible?

  “Your soul speaks to me.”

  She.. You can read my mind?

  The figure before me moves forward, and despite the light exuding from her, I can make out a soft smile. “It’s not your mind that speaks to me, for that was left behind. It is the voice of your soul that I can hear.”

  I stare, dumfounded by the information. My soul?

  The goddess tilts her head; her smile reaching her eyes. “You’re confused, yes? Then I shall explain it to you.” The goddess pauses, raising a hand to her chest. “Young one, you are dead and are here to be judged for your actions while on Earth. I am Azone. God of life, death, and rebirth.”

  My eyes finally adjust enough to see the being I’m talking to. She has a tall, slender figure that’s draped in a flawless white gown. She’s the very picture of beauty, with flawless white skin, sapphire blue eyes and long white hair. Everything about her seems to shine, as if all the light in the world comes from her. The more I stare, the harder it is to take my eyes off her. She is perfection, and with each passing second, her beauty grows. Another soft chuckle breaks the spell I am under, and I tear my eyes away from her.

  Azone moves a hand to her lips and lets out a shy giggle. “Well now, aren’t you the charmer?” The light from her dims, allowing her perfect features to become clearer. “I must correct you, however. I have no gender or form of my own. The body you see is a reflection of your mind.” Azone gestures to herself before continuing. “The way one sees me is how the beholder views death. For you, I am a vision of beauty, but to others, I may look like a daemon or a skeleton holding a scythe.”

  So that’s where the myth of the grim reaper comes from. That’s kind of funny… In a sad way. Azone giggles, reminding me that my thoughts are on display. Damn it! Ah, I mean darn it. I keep forgetting you can hear my um.. soul?

  Azone nods, covering her smile with her hand. “Yes, your soul is correct. Be at ease, child. The things you do here will not affect my judgement.”

  “Oh, sure.” I say, focusing much harder on my words than normal. “So, what happens? Do we play a game, or do you weigh my heart on a scale?”

  “You humans and your myths.” Azone’s lips curl down as her hand falls away from her mouth. “Unfortunately, there is no way for you to go back to your world as you are now.”

  Azone’s words wash away the calmness, filling me with a pain not my own. “Goddess, have I done something wrong?”

  Azone nods, her sapphire eyes glassy. “Your soul is stained with blood, but you have not lived an evil life. Behold.” My life flashes before my eyes. My time at school, my military service, my time as a guidance counselor, my achievements and my failures. Azone’s voice fills my mind as the images flash before me. “You have served your fellow man well and tried to make the world a better place. Your actions were often noble. You do not deserve the fires of hell, and yet the blood that stains your soul will not allow you to enter heaven.” I watch as my past becomes my present, my life ending with the gunshot of a troubled child.

  The light fades and brings me back to Azone’s room. “I killed that child.” I say, the weight of missed opportunities and mistakes feeling like a stone tied around my neck. “I deserve whatever punishment you decide.”

  A soft glow surrounds me and the pain fades away. “Be at peace, young one. You have lived a good life, one worthy of praise and reward.” Azone floats towards me, her brilliant smile having returned. “I shall grant unto you a choice as a reward for your good deeds.” She holds up 3 fingers. “You have 3 options you are worthy of and I will let you make the final decision. She pulls one of her fingers down towards her palm. “The first is annihilation. Your soul will be destroyed and fragmented. These fragments will serve as the souls of the wild things in your world. As they grow, and after many centuries of death and rebirth, those fragments will gain knowledge and grow. It is then these souls will inhabit the form of humans and stand before me as you do now.” Azone’s face softens as she tilts her head to the left. “I offer you this choice because your soul was once such a fragment.”

  The full gravity of my situation hits me. I’m deciding on what will become of me forever and this is option 1. “Goddess, shouldn’t this be your choice?”

  The goddess lets out a giggle before continuing. “Your second option is to be bound to the gates of hell. While bound, the flames will burn away all that clouds your soul. After 300 years, your soul will be cleansed from everything that currently taints it.”

  “300 years in hell is a small price to pay to get into heaven. I can handle a bit of torture by demons if I know it’s not forever.” I say, already sold on the idea.

  Azone clears her throat to get my attention. “Hell is not what you think it is, young one. It is a place to cleanse the soul of all that it has experienced. The process is painful, yes, but because all that you are will be lost. Hell wipes the soul clean. Once it’s done and all memories of your past are lost, you will be reincarnated. You won’t go to heaven after. You’ll return to earth and be born anew.”

  “No way am I doing that, then. Losing everything sounds like an awful way to spend eternity. Wait, has this happened to me before? How many times have I already been to hell? How many times have I been born again?”

  Azone gives me a knowing smile. “That’s not a question you want the answer to.” She says with a smirk before continuing her monologue. “Your 3rd and final option is service to the gods. They will give you a task suited to your skills, and they will cleanse you. You may keep your memories and once your task is complete, you will join heaven’s embrace.” Azone clasps her hands together. “These will be your choices, young one. I shall give you some time to consider your options. Know that if you cannot decide, I will pick option one.” Azone’s form fades as the last of her words leaves her lips, leaving me alone with a decision to make.

  With the Goddess gone, the weight of the situation finally hits me. I’m dead... I’m actually dead, and the last thing I did before I died was. My body? My Soul? Whatever I was now, shudders. I killed someone. I let out a long sigh that felt wrong without an actual breath. Guess it's no surprise I’m not going to heaven. If anything, I’m shocked I didn't get sent straight to hell. I stare at the ground as thoughts of my time in the military force their way out of my subconscious. I let out a bitter laugh. Even if I hadn't killed that kid, I still would have been in shit for all that. Killing was my job for the first few years of my adult life after all. My body bobs as I let out a loud huff. Enough with the self-loathing routine. I’m not going to get anywhere by beating myself up. Move forward soldier, focus on the next move. Focus on the intel I have. There are three options, and there's a ticking clock on my decision.

  Annihilation is my first option, and it’s by far the easiest of the bunch. I stop existing, and my soul will get used for parts. The thought of being destroyed is terrifying, but it would be over. I wouldn't have to deal with anything; I would just be gone. I let out a long hum as I let the option rattle around in my mind. There's a small part of me that feels like I deserve it. It's not like I'll know I’m gone, and, as a bonus, my death would serve a purpose. My body floats to the side as I try to rest a nonexistent hand against my nonexistent hip. It's times like this I wish Mama had raised a quitter. I straighten myself before I drift into a wall. Man, this sucks. It would have been so easy to give up.

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  I push myself forward, my body or whatever floating around like a leaf on a calm stream. "I hate the idea of option two. Sitting around and waiting to lose my mind? That sounds like torture." I say, my voice echoing back to me. "Oh. So I can talk. I wish the goddess had told me that instead of reading my mind." With a loud ahem, I clear what passes for a throat in my current form and yell with everything I have. "I’d rather get it over and done with than slowly fade away." As my words reverberate around me, the perfect white of the void is tainted by an odd green glow. "What?" I ask, looking at the ground. "Is this coming from me?" A warmth spreads through me as I follow the influence of the green light, watching it get weaker the further away from me it is. "You hear me! I'm not going to hell unless the devil himself drags me there."

  I laugh as the void returns to its pristine white, my colours and my words fading as if claimed by the space itself. My body bobs as I let out a tired sigh. "I guess I'm taking option three. It's the best of the bunch by far, but it's also the one I know the least about." I tilt myself upwards and look at the long, thin rafters holding up the roof. "I like the idea of paying off my debt through service. It feels... right. It feels fair." I mimic the sound of taking a breath in and out, which ends up sounding closer to me blowing up a balloon. "I wish I knew what kind of service they were talking about, though. The goddess said she’d... Wait, no they’d? What do you call a god? It?" I can feel a bit of frustration in the back of my mind. "Focus! You don’t need to guess a god's pronouns right now."

  I shake my head, which was a mistake since it sends me tumbling into the roof. Without eyelids or eyes for that matter, all I can do is watch as I bounce against the ceiling. "Crap, crap, crap, crap." I yell, letting out a pathetic squeak as I manage to regain control, a moment before I crash into the floor. "Okay. I need to be way more careful of my movements."

  I spend a few minutes wiggling my way away from the floor before returning to my thoughts. Now, what was it the goddess said? It was something I would be suited for. What am I suited for? Does heaven need a guidance counsellor or something? Does god need a sniper? Is there some kind of war between heaven and hell? I let out a soft hum. That seems unlikely, but the god's could have enemies. It's plausible it could be a civil war. A shiver rattles down my spine as the thought of killing a god crosses my mind. "Well, as long as I can hold a gun and have a target, I.. Wait, I don't have a body. So they'd have to give me one. What if it's around here?"

  With a bit of effort, I float myself towards the floor, looking for signs of a secret door or anything that might give me more information. I scan each line, looking for the slightest inconsistencies. It’s painfully slow going, and once I realise every line is different, I speed up the process a bit.

  As I float along, something becomes apparent about my surroundings. The architecture here is odd. The floor is made of large white tiles, but the corners of each of them is chipped. "Weird, it's like they've been picked up and replaced repeatedly. I wonder if the pillars are different too."

  I float over and inspect each pillar one by one. "I knew it. These are all different." I say as I reach the fourth. "None of these are the same either. It looks like someone was trying to cover their mistakes as they learnt." I back away from the last pillar, and float back to the centre of the room. "Could this be what the goddess meant? Would I have to make a new stage for the gods?"

  I grumble as my father's mantra echoes through my head. "Hard work is good for the soul, and a bit of elbow grease brings us closer to god."

  "Please tell me that's not a thing. I don't want to live in a world where my dad's self-help mantras are the secret to eternal salvation." I let out a long grumble as I fight the urge to shake my head. "He's never going to let me live it down if he's right."

  I float over to the closest pillar and trace the lines to the ceiling. " I'm still choosing option three. I’m not sure how long I’m going to be doing it or what I’ll be doing, but they are gods. If they wanted something done, they could do it without me, right? I mean, really, how bad could it be? Surely they wouldn’t be dicks about it?"

  I move closer to the tile beneath me as a large divot in its center catches my eye. "They're not looking for perfection; they're giving me a choice. I should be grateful for that." My body bobs as I mindlessly nod to myself. "At the very least, I know when it's all over, I go to heaven. With any luck, some of my old buddies will even be up there." I chuckle to myself as a face I hadn't thought about in a long time pops into my mind. "If I get really lucky, that cute medic I had a crush on could be there too. I’ve been kicking myself for not talking to them for over 15 years now." A happy feeling washes over me as my decision finalizes in my mind. "I’ll do the good Christian thing and serve the gods. My mother would be so proud."

  I lose myself in exploring for a while, finding more and more imperfections the longer I look. The floor tiles are better made towards the far end of the chamber, and the same goes for the pillars. The closest one is rough and looks to have been carved at least a dozen times. Its lines wobble upwards towards the roof. It's imperceptible from afar but obvious when studied up close. The fourth, in contrast, is perfect, its grooves flowing straight upwards as if carved by a machine.

  A blinding light fills the room, heralding the goddess’s return. "Your time is up." She says, now floating a few centimeters off the ground in the center of the room. “I have returned, young one, and I would have your answer.” She says, her soft expression making me feel warm.

  I muster my courage and focus hard on my words. “Oh, great and powerful Azone, I.. This humble soul will serve the gods.” I say with all the reverence I can manage.

  A silence hangs in the air for what feels like forever. “Young one, are you certain this is the path you wish to walk?” She asks, her eyebrows crinkling the skin between them. “Know this: should you follow this path, you will spend 800 years in the service of the gods.” Azone says, floating closer and closer to me. “This will be no simple task, and there will be great hardships.” She continues, reaching a hand out and resting it beneath me. Her blue eyes stare into my soul, filling me with a bitter sorrow. “I will not ask again, young one, what is your choice?"

  I stare into the goddess's blue eyes, their soft edges pleading for me to change my mind. "I... My choice is." I harden my resolve and gather my remaining courage. “Goddess, I wish to serve the gods... Please...” I say, regretting my words the moment they leave my lips.

  "As you wish. " The goddess turns from me and returns to the center of the room, a tear falling from her eyes as she goes. Azone turns to face me again, her eyes once again finding mine. Her worried expression replaced with a beaming smile, her cheek still wet from the tear. “You have made your choice, and I shall respect that. No doubt you have questions and doubts, but our time together now grows short. I shall answer 3 before I tell you of the choice you have made.”

  Three questions. I can ask three questions, and a god will answer them. What do you ask a god about? The meaning of life? Why do the gods let bad things happen? No, if I’m going to heaven after this, then I’ll get those answers then. I have to make these count and find out what’s coming next. “Goddess, what will I be..”

  The goddess raises a finger and waggles it back and forth while shaking her head. “I will tell you of the choice you have made after the questions.” She says, her voice like that of an upset teacher.

  "Right. Sorry about that, I almost wasted a question there." I look around the room again, the flawed pillar closest to me catching my eye. I turn my attention back to the goddess and blurt out my question. “Could you confirm something for me? I'd like to know if this place was built by a soul?”

  Azone gives a small sigh before answering. “Yes, young one, it was. It was crafted by a soul like yours. The first soul like you, in fact.” Azone says, her eyes breaking away from mine and looking around the room. “This place is what cleansed his tainted soul from the countless deaths he caused to protect his home and family.” A sad smile pulls at the side of her face as her eyes return to mine. “Young one. You must have bigger questions than who made this room.” Azone smirks as she raises an eyebrow. "If you'd prefer, we can skip the question."

  I look at the floor. Of course, a goddess could see right through me. I have to make the second question count. "Um, so." I pull my attention upwards again and meet Azone’s eyes. “What is heaven like?”

  Azone lets out a small laugh before composing herself. “A far better question than your first, young one.” She says, her beaming smile returning. “So you wish to know what awaits you after your service is complete. What a clever soul you are.” Azone floats back to me and rests a hand on my head. “You are only the second soul to ask me about that.” She smiles and gestures upwards. “To put it in simple terms, heaven is a place of learning. Once there, you will have access to all the knowledge of the universe and all of eternity to learn it.”

  “Wait, heaven is school! I have to go to school forever?”

  Azone giggles again. “You always were an impudent one, weren’t you?” She says, her smirk returning. “You can spend your time in leisure there if that is your wish. However, think on this: with all of eternity before you, how long do you think you could lie on clouds and relax?” Azone reaches out a finger and boops my soul. “Heaven is paradise. It’s where a soul can learn and experience everything and anything that can, has and will ever happen. A place where the secrets of the universe live. A place where a soul can become a god.” Azone says, letting the implications register in my mind before continuing. “And with that, I shall now tell you of the path you have chosen.”

  Crap, I accidentally used my third question!

  Azone shakes her head before continuing. “You, young one, shall serve as a guide to the children of another world. This world is a place of hardships, but unlike your world, it is full of magic."

  "Magic? Like spells and enchantments? Can people throw fireballs?"

  "They can, and they must. This world is full of beasts and monsters of all kinds. That is why you are going to this world. To help strengthen them."

  "Me? But I..."

  Azone raises a hand and gives me a look that tells me talking time is over. "Your task shall be twofold. First, you shall build a dungeon. A place of trial and tribulation for the people of that world. As your dungeon grows, so will those who come seeking you. Together you will grow stronger, and with time, this strength will shape the world.” She says, as a white light envelops her. “Some may die as they attempt your trials, but worry not; the gods will not punish you for a task we have given you.”

  The light fills my every sense, and I can feel something changing deep inside. “Wait!” I scream as an unseen force pulls me away from the Goddess. “I don’t know what the second task is yet; you haven’t told me.”

  Azone’s voice rings through my head, her words echoing through my mind. “You'll find that task on your own in time. Now sleep, young one; when you awake, you will be in a new world.” A wave of exhaustion washes over me. I try to struggle against it, but the more I try, the stronger it becomes. My vision grows dark as I drift off to a peaceful sleep. The goddess’s voice fills my mind as the last shreds of consciousness flee my grasp. “Serve the gods well, young one. We shall meet again once your fifth floor has been built."